The Leadership Question

Published on January 21, 2026

The history of Nigeria's stagnation has been chiefly blamed on an unrestrained stream of bad leadership that has infested the veins of the State for decades. As Nigeria's foremost writer, Chinua Achebe, remarked, ".... the seminal absence of intellectual rigour in the political thought of our founding fathers – a tendency to pious materialistic woolliness and self-centred pedestrianism", has robbed the country of a leadership with the capacity to navigate her out of the nightmare of ethnocentrism, religious parochialism and sectional narrow-mindedness which put together has dwarfed her political culture.

As a consequence, the Nigerian situation is not different from the entire African situation, which is largely marked by abysmal corruption, malnutrition, destitution, hunger, instability, restiveness, high maternal mortality, homelessness, poverty, etc., and all fingers continue to point at the failure of leadership to manage the enormous resources of the country for the benefit of the citizenry. Ayitte posits that the African continent is generally “Mired in steaming squalor, misery, deprivation and chaos; it is in the throes of a seemingly incurable crisis. Eating has become a luxury to many Africans, and hunger stares them in the face” (Ayitte, 1978: 14).

This absence of objectivity and intellectual rigour at the critical phase of Nigeria's journey to self-determination set in motion a fledgling state of disorderly growth and mental paucity. Consequently, this mentality led to the emergence of leaders whose inspiration and drive for leadership were facilitated by the gimmick of coming to right wrongs of the administrations they were replacing through coup d‟états and kangaroo elections heavily characterised by irregularities, thus, further deepening the misery of the Nigerian masses.


The misrule that ensued in the wake of these takeovers set the stage for the milking of Nigeria's treasury by these leaders; the staggering amount of money misappropriated or siphoned into private coffers by Nigerian leaders from independence could build a world superpower. Sadly, the armour that has, over time, shielded Nigerian leaders from prosecution over the years, thereby making corruption endemic, ranges from ethnocentrism to religious parochialism.

The gross ineptitude of leadership and flagrant abdication of responsibility by same, has made life a living hell for the average Nigerian citizen. Chinua Achebe, foremost literary icon posited that: “the problem with Nigeria is simply and squarely a failure of leadership.

There is nothing wrong with the Nigerian character. There is nothing wrong with the Nigerian climate, land, water, or air, or anything else. The Nigerian problem is the unwillingness or inability of its leaders to rise to the responsibility, to the challenge of personal example, which is the hallmark of true leadership”. Nigeria has held an infamous reputation for endemic corruption owing to the foregoing assertion by Achebe.

Leadership is critical in effecting meaningful changes in the life of a nation as the collective will of citizens are vested in the leadership in place at all times. Conversely, when that leadership fails squarely in the discharge of its responsibilities or even worse, abdicating that responsibility, the confidence of the citizenry in the state continues to wane. This sets the stage for the emergence of different elements in society who offer to salvage people under religious and/or ethnic fronts etc.; which ultimately brings patriotism to its lowest ebb and threatens the march to nationhood.

The evolution into nationhood is a task that statesmen like Pa Ayo Adebanjo embarked upon with great optimism and unbridled passion. He sought through the Afenifere alliance and partnership among the multifarious ethnic nationalities of the country with the hope of evolving into a nation bound by common interest and destiny. He fought resiliently against injustice, discrimination and suppression of minorities and stood by the truth not minding whose ox is gord. The patriotism he demonstrated to the Nigerian State through promotion of democratic ideals of true federalism and strict adherence to the rule of law will remain indelible in the sands of time and a memorial to his quintessential personality.

The Middle-Belt region which is composed of indigenous ethnic nationalities straddling Benue, Taraba, Adamawa, Plateau, Niger, Nasarawa, Kogi, Kwara, Abuja FCT, Southern Borno, Southern Kebbi, Southern Yobe, Gombe, Southern Bauchi, and Southern Kaduna are independent ethnic nationalities who were not part of the Sokoto caliphate or the Sultanate of Borno when the British came in 1900. They are independent autochthonous nationalities with similar cultural practices and traditions. They are a fusion of the Great Bantu and Afro-Asiatic Negro Stocks. They are largely part of the "Great Kwararafa" empire and civilization. Some established independent political entities of their own with varying forms of political organization, within which sophisticated socio-cultural and economic institutions evolved, as testaments to creative responses to existential and environmental challenges.

The Middle-Belt Forum is a formidable platform for the articulation of ideas, resources and manpower for the expression of freedom from oppression and subjugation of the peoples of the Middle-Belt as independent ethnic nationalities in defense of our people, land and heritage. The ethos of the Afenifere which was personified by our late patriarch remain the confluence between the Middle-Belt Forum and our brothers in Southern Nigeria. Together we will evolve into a robust nation of compatriots committed to a common interest and destiny. This is the greatest memorial we owe our departed Afenifere leader.

Thank you for listening!